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Professional Presentation

             There have been arguments on what is most valued in a professional presentation, between quality content and a polished delivery. I believe content is the soul of any type of communication. Since a professional presentation involves communication with the audience, then I believe in this case, it is necessary for the presenter to prioritize quality content, before the kind of delivery they will use.

Today, we live in a different era, where no one has the time sit and to listen to a presentation that does not add value to them. This is a kind of presentation that lacks quality content. No matter how one polishes or decorates the delivery mode, if content is lacking quality, this will not make sense to the audience, since audience are more interested in the content, than the delivery mode (Yate and Sander 2).

When the content of a professional presentation has high quality, this leaves an impact on the audience, and inspires them to take action, depending on the nature of the presentation. This makes the audience remember the presenter. On the other hand, if the presenter invests more in delivery than content, this will not influence the audience in any way. Additionally, this kind of presenter will not be remembered by the audience, except in a negative way (Yate and Sander 4).

Therefore, a professional presenter should focus on presenting high quality content, which is relevant and up-to-date. These should present well-researched information, which is in-depth, and authoritative. Only this way will the presentation be successful, compared with one with a highly polished delivery, but lacking content.

 

Works Cited

Yate, Martin and Sander, Peter. “The Ultimate Business Presentations Book: Make a Great

Impression Every Time.” New York: Kogan Page Publishers. 2003. Print.

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Practice in Public Administration

Question 1 (a)

Public administration today seems to be in an identity crisis. This is a wide discipline, and its boundaries are hard to define, because they are unclear. While others consider public administration a science, some view it as an art. It is also possible to describe public administration in the contexts of an art and science. In the past, public administration was concerned with issues of politics and policies in the society. Unlike the past, public administration today is experiencing continuous changes in its structure and functions, since the world today is highly dynamic. Factors that have contributed to changes in this discipline include social and cultural inputs, influences from the economy, management, as well as organizational influences (Shafritz, Russell and Borick 32).

Public administration is a field of study and at the same time, a field of practice. As a field of practice, this involves executing governmental functions and administering public affairs. This also includes enacting of law, developing infrastructure, among others. As a field of study, public administration is involved with the advancement of practical and theoretical knowledge in the discipline, by use of both scientific and social science methods. From this, it is clear that public administration has characteristics of an art and a science (Khan 34).

According to Khan, public administration is regarded an art because it focuses on creativity in its processes and the people involved. This discipline also is concerned with the aspect of leadership. Since this mainly deals with the public and their affairs, there must be elements of leadership for successful execution of its function as a practical field. Public administration, as an art is also concerned with a sense of intangibles in administration. Mostly, the human resources employed in this field make use of resources that are intangible in furthering the different processes of public administration (45).

Public administration can also be regarded as a science, for various reasons. First, just like in science, the field of public administration has different theories, which it uses to provide an explanation, or different variables in the processes of public administration. These theories in public administration are used together with different concepts, as in the case of science. These theories and concepts are often developed after an empirical research, which mainly utilises different systematic methods. The theories and concepts in public administration are of use to the discipline. These, like those in science, help to improve the practice of public administration and its art (Khan 52).

Public administration is a science because, as a field of study, it is systematic. Public administration makes a broad generalization about administration. These generalizations are then verified by use of a variety of methods. Additionally, science used broad-based theories and concepts. Similarly, the field of public administration utilizes broad-based generalizations, and these can be widely applied to various spheres in the society. An example of this is the personnel management theories, which are widely used today. Waldo in Khan describes public administration as “the art and science of management as applied by the affairs of state.” This field is an art of getting things done. With this, public administration can be defined as the science and art of managing the state affairs (Khan 68).

 

Question 1 (b)

For most countries, including the United Arab Emirates, one of their top agendas is to improve the quality of their public administration, for it to be effective in the country. This increases the economic development of a country and citizens can be provided with quality services. The effectiveness of public administration is reflected in the services citizens receive, as well as the commitment the administrators portray. The UAE tries to improve its public administration each year, to reach higher standards. However, there are still loopholes, which need to be addressed in the public administration of UAE.

Some of the changes I would initiate in the public administration of UAE would focus on ensuring that all citizens regardless of their socio-economic status have good living standards, which include both the basic and social welfare needs, including education. This is the foundation of a healthy nation, when all citizens can afford important needs to live a comfortable life. This, I can achieve through the development of different strategies and actions. Additionally, I would aim at reforming some of the present strategies in UAE’s public administration, which I consider are ineffective. Situations of politicizing the public administration will be my main concern. This is the root cause of corruption, which is killing public administration. Therefore, getting rid of this phenomenon will be of great help, and setting up sanctions for those involved will lead to it to diminish (Khan 98).

Question 2

Executive Masters in Public Administration is an advanced program that teaches about budgeting, leadership, policy writing, and public relations, among others. After this program, one can manage public and private organizations, including non-profit groups, and one can work in various departments of the government (Tarallo 43).

Managers should undertake this study, as it will add more value to their career. This will make managers to be effective and skilful public administrators. They will gain more skills in their area of practice. These include technical skills, which are core to public administration. These skills are important for policy analysis, which is core to public administration.

Apart from knowledge and skills, an executive Masters in public administration will enable a manager earn more income. If a manager furthers their studies, they are more likely to get a promotion in their field of practice. This promotion comes with an increased income. Additionally, an executive Masters in public administration will expose a manager to a variety of career opportunities within public administration. This manager can work as a director of administration in different institutions, a director of government relations, director of education, among many others. This therefore, helps a manager have security in his career, apart from helping them climb the career ladder (Tarallo 46).

Question 3 (a)

When employees are empowered, it means that power has been passed down to them; therefore, they can participate in major decision making, among other crucial tasks. Empowered employees also do not wait for orders, but instead use organization’s resources to get results. The employees will act out of their own responsibility, without being pushed by their seniors. For this to be attained however there must be changes in the structure of the government agency to accommodate employee empowerment (Shafritz, Russell and Borick 113).

First, there must be changes in the management of personnel in the organization. Here, employees will be given authority to perform various tasks, which they would not perform before, unless they were ordered. These include scheduling meetings and trainings, set the standards of job performance, administer discipline in the organization, hire new employees, and perform appraisals, among others. This way, considerable authority is trickled down to employees, who take up roles, which were previously restricted to the managers and other seniors (Tarallo 68).

The work processes in the agency will also be redesigned. In this case, employees will be allowed to identify what they consider problematic with the present work processes and contribute toward the solutions for the problems they have identified. Additionally, the management structure will be restructured for employees to experience empowerment. Management of the agency will be performed collectively with the employees. This includes problem solving in the agency, budgeting, contacting suppliers, and planning, among others.

However, for all these changes to be effective, the bureaucratic systems in the government agency have to be broken down completely. These normally constrain employees, and do not make them seem trustful. As a new manager, changing and destroying authoritarianism in the management of the government agency will be crucial. Introduction of improved reward systems in the agency will also go a long way in motivating and empowering employees (Tarallo 87).

Question 3 (b)

Employee empowerment gives more power and authority to employees in conducting the organization’s business. My greatest worry in implementing employee empowerment in this government agency is that the employees might at some point abuse the excessive power given to them. It is possible that some employees can take advantage of this power for their own selfish gains and interests. Another form of abuse of power is that, employees might become less responsible and less efficient in their work. This could be through taking long breaks or spending much time on employee meetings that are unnecessary.

The relations between managers and employees will be more likely to be affected upon implementation of employee empowerment. The managers might have a hard time adapting to the new organizational change of employee empowerment. This could lead to indifferences between managers and the employees. This becomes worrying because the organization will lack a conducive environment for effective working. This might then result in low productivity of the government agency, which makes it a poor performer in public administration. Nonetheless, employee empowerment is key to productivity in an organization. It must just be implemented in a way that will ensure employees are still held accountable for their actions and decisions. Empowerment of employees is crucial, but too much power and authority for employees might not realize positive outcomes in an organization.

 

 

Works Cited

Khan, Haroon. “An Introduction to Public Administration.” New York: University Press of

America, 2008. Print.

Shafritz, Jay, Russell, W. and Borick, Christopher. “Introducing Public Administration.” New

York: Pearson College Division, 2012. Print.

Tarallo, Michael. “Public Administration: Key Issues Challenging Practitioners.” New Jersey:

AuthorHouse, 2012. Print.

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Regeneration of Nerve Fibres

            This paper summarises and analyses a research article titled Topiramate improves neurovascular function, epidermal nerve fiber morphology, and metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, by Boyd, et al. This article was published in the Dove Press journal: Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, and Obesity: Targets and Therapy, in the 2010 December issue. This article is about a study, which the authors conducted in type 2 diabetes patients, to establish how Topiramate affects the function of C-fibre, the morphology of nerve fibre, as well as the metabolism. The main purpose of the researchers in conducting this study was therefore, to determine the effects of Topiramate on type 2 diabetes patients’ metabolism, nerve fibre morphology, and the role of the C-fibre (Boyd, et al. 431).

In order to find answer their study question, the researchers performed an experimentation. This took 18 weeks to complete, and was performed on twenty type 2 diabetes patients aged between 35 -75 years. Of these twenty study subjects, 15 were male, while five were female. All the subjects were confirmed to suffer from diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The study compared patients’ sensory reactions, skin biopsies, and skin blood flow before and after the Topiramate treatment. The assessments of these were conducted once, before the treatment and once when the 18 weeks period ended. The treatment was introduced after the first assessment of patients (Boyd, et al.431-2).

I will explain the skin blood flow measurement experimentation, which was performed on the study subjects. Here, the laser Doppler was employed in determining how patients reacted to various stimuli in the environment. Testing was done twice, after six weeks, and on the 18^th week, at the end of the study. The parts of the body used for testing included the nondominant foot and the proximal calf. These were the same parts where the skin blood flow and temperature probes were placed, but on the specific points where skin biopsy was done. Examination of blood skin flow in patients were performed while the patients were in an inclined position, with their legs slightly raised and fully stretched. After every 10 minutes, the temperature was increased, to initially 32 degrees Celsius, then 40 degrees Celsius for ten more minutes, before being increased to 44 degrees Celsius for a final 20 minutes (Boyd, et al. 434-5).

The results of this research showed that all the study subjects, except one, were able to put up with the Topiramate medication. The one patient was discontinued on the grounds of fatigue, and other cognitive implications of the Topiramate medication. The other patients did not experience this effect in a similar magnitude. The general results of the research revealed that Topiramate increased the length of dendrites in the proximal leg and forearm. There was also an improvement in the total neuropathy scores of patients (Boyd, et al. 436).

The authors in their conclusion claim to have shown the following through their research:

• Treatment with Topiramate for eighteen weeks results in improvement in neuropathy scores.
• There is a relationship between the distal leg IENF, and the total period of diabetes.
• A reduction in the mean length of dendrites in patients with metabolic syndrome but without hyperglycaemia, leads to changes in the patients.
• After every five years, a diabetic patient experiences a decrease in IENF density.

The Topiramate treatment could be incorporated in the therapies of metabolic syndrome, neuropathy, and diabetes, as this has been confirmed by this study, to have a positive influence on the investigated conditions of diabetes. This leads to pain relief, weight loss, and metabolic changes. Although the curative function of Topiramate treatment is limited in this study, this treatment remains beneficial to type 2 diabetes patients (Boyd, et al. 437).

 

Works Cited

Boyd, et al. “Topiramate improves neurovascular function, epidermal nerve fiber morphology,

and metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.” Dovepress Journal: Diabetes,

Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy. Vol. 3 (2010): 431–437. Web. Retrieved 20 February 2013 <http://www.dovepress.com/topiramate-improves-neurovascular-function-epidermal-nerve-fiber-morph-peer-reviewed-article-DMSO-recommendation1>

 

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Parenting and Work

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21^st, February 2013

 

An article by Bianchi titled “Changing Families, Changing Workplaces,” explores the implications parents face while trying to balance work and family life. This reveals that parents have limited time with their families because of too much work. This case is aggravated by little pay for lower middle-class workers, which forces both parents to take up jobs, in order to meet the needs of their families (Bianchi, 2011). Another article “Single Mothers: The Impact of Work on Home and the Impact of Home on Work” by McFadden and Robin, is about a study to establish the job satisfaction and home satisfaction of single mothers in the United States, and generally, the challenges these face at their workplace. In this study, single mothers reported high stress levels due to lack of a perfect balance between family and work. This is mainly due to financial problems, single parenting, and challenges at their work places (McFadden & Robin, 2003). Like chapter 13 “Parenting and Working” in Brooke’s ‘The Process of Parenting,” these articles have addressed ways through which parents can make parenting and working effective, depending on their circumstances, and family structures. All talk about importance of company policies, which can help make balancing family and work easier for employees.

In dual families, couples can use various ways to buffer the effects of stress and challenges emanating from balancing between parenting and working. These should clarify their roles and expectations. Communication is key in relationships, therefore, if these share their career aspirations, they will identify their conflicting goals, and help them compromise, for a working dual-worker relationship. These should also set their priorities right. Since these have clarified their roles and expectations, they will have found a common on what matters more to them. They will then prioritize this, and this will help them not break because of work-family challenges. In addition, if these parents develop process skills, they will counter most challenges that are related to role overload. For single mothers, their employers can help them solve this by providing them with flexible working hours. Since these have to take care of their children on their own, both their work and children are important, yet these require much attention, which is challenging for one person to do. Therefore, flexible working hours might be the only solution for single parents.

Different work places have different ways of accommodating parental needs. A health care facility in my local community is known to support parenting and accommodate it. First, married employees enjoy parental leaves. Also, when their children get sick, these are granted time-off to attend to them. Maternity leaves are granted to expectant employees, and these are paid. Sick leaves during pregnancy are also granted. Generally, this institution embraces flexibility for caretaking responsibilities of parents.

 

References

Bianchi, S. (2011). Changing Families, Changing Workplaces. The Future of Children, 21:2

(2011), 15-36. Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/21_02_02.pdf

McFadden, J. & Robbin, R. (2003). Single Mothers: The Impact of Work on Home and the

Impact of Home on Work. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education, 21:1 (2003), 1-10. Retrieved from http://www.natefacs.org/JFCSE/v21no1/v21no1Robbins.pdf

 

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

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20^th, February, 2012

 

The process of performance management is important to organizations, and therefore, the management should be sure to incorporate this process into their organizations for increased productivity. The process of performance management is whereby an organization assesses the performance of its employees using various tools of assessment, to ensure that the performance of employees is aligned with the objectives of the organization. During this process, objectives are set for employees, their performance is rated against the set objectives, and their future development activities are outlined in order to contribute to achieving of the set objectives. Therefore, the system of performance management generally involves evaluating and developing the skills, behaviors, and the performance of individual employees, for ensuring that the organization competes favorably in the market through its high performance.

Performance management is used as a measuring and management instrument of employees in the organization. This process mostly benefits the big international companies, and those companies, whose workforce is greatly distributed. As a process, performance management comprises different types of activities aimed at achieving the objective of the general process. These include reward and remuneration for employees, coaching and mentoring of employees, team working, measuring, competencies, and personal development plans, among others. Today, performance management is characterized by various changes, as the way it is approached today differs with how the process was approached in the past centuries. The changes in performance management today have contributed to its increased efficiency, and help organizations retain their high-performing employees. Performance management today is a holistic process, which embraces different processes, and this is efficient in people management in companies (Kreitner 2008).

Armstrong & Baron (2005) note that performance management is not a new process. This has lasted for the past seventy years, since its inception in the 1940’s. Initially, managers of companies developed performance management during this period, in order to establish whether the different salaries and remuneration for the employees were justified or not. The difference between performance management of those days, and the performance management today, is reflected in the complexity of the process. Today, performance management process is more sophisticated, as managers have incorporated more elements, which lacked in the past. For instance, managers have incorporated the aspects of development planning, competencies, and 360-degree feedback, among others, in the recent times (Armstrong & Baron 2005).

According to Hale and Whitlam (2000), it is possible to trace the roots of performance management back to through the various past themes of organizational development. In this case, there was a work-study performed. Work would be broken down into different tasks in a way that is analytical. This helped with time planning, supervision, and cost planning. Additionally, this would help in determining the incentives for employees on the job. In this case, the aspect of competency took a different approach, as we know it today, since this did not apply to more diverse work, and not only limited to work-study (Hale &Whitlam 2000).

Another situation in past organization that reflects performance management is the use of merit schemes. The merit schemes in organizations were historically used to provide the generic definition of effective performance, in addition to providing a scale, with which performance would be assessed and rated against. However, today, the merit schemes have been disregarded due to their weaknesses. For instance, merit schemes cannot be used to measure aspects of a job that are unique, therefore, this is limiting. Additionally, the merit schemes could not be used to measure behavioral characteristics, which were more subjective. These are among some of the limitations of the past approach used in performance management (Hale and Whitlam 2000).

            Today, the growth and evolution of performance management has been influenced by a variety of factors, including the social, economic, and organizational factors. First, there is the issue of high competition among organizations today. This has forced organizations to develop performance management that will maximize the individual and team performance among employees in the organization, to ensure that this is reflected in the general performance and productivity of the organization. Generally, the introduction of human resources management and integrated approach in organizations, as strategic drivers for the development and the management of employees has accelerated the process of performance management from how it was practiced in the past. Additionally, the fact that performance management today is a continuous process in the organization, as opposed to the past where it was performed annually, has helped boost the effectiveness of the process in different organizations (Kreitner 2008).

The performance of an organization is not only determined by its financial results and achievements. Performance of a company equally relies on the sustainability of its actions. In the past, most organizations based on financial performance only as a way of assessing their performance. However, today most managers feel that this kind of measurement system is not satisfactory. This is because, too much attention and emphasis on financial measures alone, such as earnings and financial returns, leads to less attention being given to some other important drivers of value, such as quality, employee satisfaction, innovation, and customer satisfaction. This is the reason why organizations today are implementing changes in their performance management, with regard to their measurement systems. Owing to the ineffectiveness of the financial measures, organizations have turned to non-financial indicators, including intellectual capital and intangible assets. This also includes the balanced scorecard, which is an integrated financial and financial measures (Parmenter 2011).

Non-financial measures are linked with long-term organizational strategies, as opposed to financial measures, which addressed annual or short-term strategies of an organization. Financial measures do not also address the customer concerns or issues concerning the competitors or profitability of the organization. However, the non-financial measures are more concerned with profitability of the organization, customer requirements, and long-term goals of the organization, among others. Non-financial measures can be used as indicators of the organization’s future financial performance. This is because, these unlike the financial measures, can capture the long-term benefits of the organization’s present decisions. Since non-financial measures are concerned with customer requirements, this helps boost the profitability of an organization, investments in customer satisfaction attracts new customers to the organization (Parmenter 2011).

Different theorists in the past contributed to the development of some of the management theories today. Frederick Taylor, in the early 19^th Century, developed the scientific management theory, which aimed at developing ways of increasing efficiency in jobs. He proposed work-study, to establish the most effective way of accomplishing tasks. He also advocated job specialization for increased efficiency. Additionally, monitoring employee performance was critical to him, to ensure employees work in alignment with company objectives. This theory was put into practice for some years, before being dropped. However, teamwork is the important aspect that was adopted from this and is still in use today. Nonetheless, this contributed to performance management by introducing systematic training and selection of employees, workplace efficiency, and it promoted systematic organizational design (Hale and Whitlam 2000).

On the other hand, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs identified different elements that must be fulfilled, for an individual to achieve self-actualization and satisfaction. These include basic and physiological needs, love and belongingness, and self-esteem. Equally, in organizations, for effectiveness to be achieved, employees must be satisfied with their job. Just like in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, employees must have resources, stability, business purpose, and esteem, in order to achieve delivery actualization. This then translates into improved performance of the employee, and the company. It is therefore, the responsibility of company management to ensure that these aspects are available to their employees. In this case, Maslow can be seen to emphasize the non-financial measures in performance management. He as well holds motivation as core to performance of employees (Goel 2008).

Douglas McGregor in 1957, attacked performance appraisal, in his article, “An uneasy look at performance appraisal,” which was published in the Harvard Business Review. Here, he argued against the approach employed by performance appraisal. Instead of focusing on the past, McGregor suggested that performance appraisal should be concerned with the future, and conduct more analysis, instead of appraisal. He also proposed that employees should be left to make their own decisions, and have their supervisors as their mentors or coaches. Therefore, of the three theorists, McGregor can be regarded as a pioneer of the human resources practices today, which have boosted the current performance management (Armstrong & Baron 2005).

Most organizations choose the strategy of management by objectives to achieve increased productivity. This is whereby employees and managers work toward a set of goals, which they collectively determine. Although this is instrumental in achieving positive results in the organization, this might also result in considerable drawbacks. First, this strategy puts more emphasis on goal setting rather than a working plan. Therefore, managers might concentrate more on setting goals, and forget to participate in helping employees meet the set goals. Additionally, because of the dynamic nature of the external business environment, goals are for short-term use, as the requirements in the external environment keep changing. Goal setting can also influence negatively on employees, especially when they fail to achieve the goals. In this case, it is unadvisable for managers to capitalize on goal setting as the core strategy in the organization (Kreitner 2008).

According to (Parmenter 2011), in the process of performance management, it is important that organizations adopt the best key performance indicators. These help in defining and measuring a company’s progress toward achieving its objectives. These differ in various organizations. For instance, a humanitarian organization might have its key performance indicator as the number of customers assisted during a specific period. Nonetheless, these must be in line with company goals, measurable, and have long-term considerations. Generally, organizations must choose the best practices in their performance management, as this is a critical process, which influences the productivity of an organization.

 

Works Cited

Armstrong, M. & Baron, A 2005, Managing Performance: Performance Management in Action,

CIPD Publishing, New Jersey.

Goel, D 2008, Performance Appraisal, and Compensation Management: A Modern Approach,

PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New York.

Hale, R. & Whitlam, P 2000, Powering Up Performance Management: An Integrated Approach

to Getting the Best from Your People, Gower Publishing, New York.

Kreitner, R 2008, Management, Cengage Learning, New York.

Parmenter, D 2011, Key Performance Indicators: Developing, Implementing, and Using

Winning KPIs, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

 

 

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Gender Communication

            The concept of gender is a fluid construct. This is because the environment one lives in, and generally the society determines a person’s gender. The society has come up with two distinct gender types. These include the masculine gender and the feminine gender. Masculinity and femininity have characteristics, which vary. The feminine gender is considered quiet, timid, nurturing, and fragile. On the other hand, the masculine gender is considered aggressive, strong, brave, and noisy. However, these traits vary across different societies. Although these traits are attached to the different genders, no man or woman is born with them instead, one acquires them in their own society through the process of socialization. Different communities in the world are different and have varying cultures. Therefore, the aspect of gender also varies among different communities. This therefore, makes gender to be a social or cultural construct, since it is the community, which determines it.

In society, the different genders are charged with different roles, and are expected to fulfil different expectations by the society. Failure to adhere to the prescribed gender roles is regarded deviant behaviour in the society. Therefore, the psychological girls in society, who act in a masculine manner and the psychological boys acting in a feminine manner, are sanctioned for failing to act within the boundaries of their respective gender. Different communities will sanction those people crossing their gender lines in different ways. Since this is the case, the individuals who are intersexed will therefore, struggle with the issue of gender identity, since it is hard for them to determine their gender identity, considering their biological set up.

As a female, in my society, I belong to the feminine gender. I am therefore, expected to act in a “feminine” manner, and not in a “masculine” manner. I realize that this social construction of gender begins early in a person’s life. When babies are born, there is already a designated type of colour for them, depending on their gender. For instance, the girls, because they are feminine, will be dressed in pink clothes, while boys, by virtue of being masculine, are dressed in blue clothes. This is because my society has made people believe that girls should wear bright colours. When I was a little girl, I remember wearing all the bright colours, including pink, yellow, red, and orange, among others. This continues to persist, as today, most men are rarely seen wearing bright colours. Men wear dark and neutral colours, while women wear all the colours, especially the bright ones (Mooney, Knox and Schacht 18).

As a feminine gender, the society expects that I be a nurturing person. This also starts when a girl is in her early years. The kind of toys my parents bought me and my brothers reflect this aspect of nurturing and femininity. While my brothers and other boys were bought for machine toys, the other girls and I were brought dolls, which we assumed were our babies. Boys would get rowdy and aggressive playing with their gun toys, car toys, and other machine toys, while we the girls were busy role-playing our mums, taking care of babies and feeding them. Although this aspect begins at a tender age, it has a big impact on the latter life of the girls and boys. For instance, today, this kind of social construction of gender has proved to be problematic as far as careers are concerned. When girls are limited to the kind of toys they should play with when young, this might lock out many opportunities for her in future. It becomes hard for them to develop other interests, apart from nurturing. Today, fields such as computing and engineering, among other technical fields, record the lowest number of females. This is probably because these women were denied the chance to play with machine toys while young, thereby, limiting their interests in life. On the other hand, the field of nursing registers the least number of males. Nursing is all about nurturing, and most men assume that this is a career for females (Lee and Ashcraft 6).

Since men believe that only the females should perform nurturing, this attitude raises considerable problems in society. Our society today is to a larger extent, male-dominated. Therefore, the big number of males in the public sphere is responsible for major policies and decisions in society. Since these men have no chance for nurturing, it is hard for them to give preference to policies that support the family unit. This therefore, has is limited men in caregiving and nurturing. However, when females joined the workforce in considerable numbers, there has been a difference in the way family needs are prioritized even at the work place. For instance, there is the parental leave and leaves to care for sick children in the family. All this is a reflection of the effects of social construction of gender, and how this has created a disparity in the way social issues are handled in society by either gender (Goldenberg and Goldenberg 5-6).

Conclusively, being a social construction, the concept of gender does not exist naturally, and people are not born with their gender. This is a concept that the society invents, influenced by different cultural norms and beliefs. Therefore, such a construct is embedded in the culture of a society. However, culture is dynamic, therefore, when the culture of a society changes, so does the constructs in the society. Therefore, with time, the gender roles in society change. Today in my society, women are allowed to take up leadership positions, as opposed to the historic past, when leadership was strictly for men. This is evidence that the gender construct keeps evolving with time. Social construction of gender has been discriminatory to the feminine gender, but I am hoping that the future presents us with a world where these constructs will be no more, so that both men and women are exposed to same opportunities, and choices in society. This will be beneficial to the society, as more women will realize their potential and contribute more to nation building.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Goldenberg, Herbert and Goldenberg, Irene. “Family Therapy: An Overview.” London: Cengage

Learning, 2008. Print

Lee, Janice and Ashcraft, Amie. “Gender Roles.” New York: Nova Publishers, 2005. Print

Mooney, Linda, Knox, David and Schacht, Caroline. “Understanding Social Problems.” London:

Cengage Learning, 2010. Print

 

 

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Food Deserts

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Tutor’s Name

18^th, February 2013

  

The problem of “Food deserts” has become of major concern in the United States of America. Different individuals and organizations are seeking ways of addressing this growing problem, for the well-being of all Americans, and the United States as a country. Through this collective effort, it is probable that this problem will soon be solved, as currently, this is being given the attention it deserves. If this problem gets working solutions, the United States will once again have a healthy population and reduced cases of health-related conditions. This essay therefore, compares and contrasts some of the concerns raised by different authors in various articles about the “food desert” problem.

An article in the Los Angeles Times, by Hernandez Daniela focuses on the commitment by the United State of America’s first lady Michelle Obama, in addressing the food desert problem in California, and other regions of the United States of America. This article also includes and talks about what Wal-Mart is doing and plans to do in future to contribute to the solutions of the food desert problem in different regions of the country. Additionally, the article focuses on the efforts of other random people and organizations in the US, in trying to deal with the food desert problem. On the other hand, the presenters addressed the situation of food desert problem in the area of Chicago (Hernandez, 2011).

In both Hernandez’s article and the presentation by the presenters, poverty is identified as key reason why most people cannot afford a healthy nutritious meal. Additionally, both address the strategies, which have already been put in place to address the food desert problem, are discussed. According to the presenters, one of the ways the government is currently addressing the food desert problem is through the provision of a link card for poor families. This way, the poor families can afford to buy food. Previously, without government intervention through the introduction of link card program, poor families had no alternative but to starve whenever they lacked sufficient money to buy their food. These among other strategies in Washington DC area have been addressed. The article by Hernandez on the other hand, has also identified strategies the first lady and the Wal-Mart stores have already put in place to address the food desert problem. The First Lady Michelle Obama has by now launched a program in California to help address the issue. This is called the “California Fresh Works Fund,” a $ 200- million partnership, which brings together the grocers in California, different financial institutions in the area, as well as different healthcare providers in the area. This initiative by the First Lady of the United States aims at the development of more grocery stores, and other ways through which health foods can be made available to people in California, especially areas faced with insufficient supply of health food. The incentive of this fund is only to retailers who sell more health foods and less junk, these are entitled to a little more grant than others who sell a lot of junk food. On the other hand, Wal-Mart future plans in place in order to help address the food desert problem. This has promised to open more stores, about 300 more, by the year 2016. These will be opened in areas that are highly affected by the food desert problem (Hernandez, 2011).

In another article by Achenbaum Emily, the strategies, which the residents of Roseland have taken to address the food drought problem is addressed. This article shares the same sentiments with the presenter. Both acknowledge the fact that people living in food deserts are more prone to suffer serious health problems related to poor nutrition, because, these have no choices for health food apart from fast food. While the presenters addressed the food desert situation in Chicago, this article has mainly focused on this problem in Roseland. However, from these articles, the problems in these two areas seem to be similar. In both cases, residents have to drive a long way to reach a grocery store. However, the price of gas comes in their way, and so, most will shop from their nearest store with junk food. The residents of Roseland and Chicago areas adopted different strategies to address the food desert problem in these areas. With the help of National Center for Public Research, residents of Roseland in 2008 launched September’s National Food Desert Awareness Month. On the other hand, in Chicago, the “Healthy Corners DC” program was launched. This program funds a specific number of grocery stores to provide health food to residents in the area. This program in Chicago has so far helped in changing the food desert situation in the area (Achenbaum, 2008).

Just like the presenters did, the article by Wehunt Jennifer in the July 2009 issue of Chicago Magazine, similarly addresses the food desert scenario in Chicago, and identifies the strategies in the area, which aim at solving the problem. However, the strategies identified by this article, and those identified by the presenters are different. This shows that both did not exhaust the strategies in the area. Therefore, one might conclude that Chicago is taking all necessary steps to end the problem, as it considers the problem to be a big issue that needs to be fixed as fast as possible (Wehunt, 2009).

Wehunt in her article has explained the food desert problem as it is in Chicago in detail, compared to the presenters. Wehunt has defined what a food desert is before embarking on detailed revelations about this problem in Chicago, and its neighborhood, Roseland. However, thy both agree that the food desert problem in Chicago has mostly affected the African Americans, since these are more than the whites living in this area. Additionally, both Wehunt and the presenters have addressed the effects of the food desert problem on the affected population. Both agree that this leads to nutrition related health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Additionally, both Wehunt and the presenters have identified the fact that there is hope for Chicago, as far as the food desert problem is concerned. According to Wehunt, the food desert in Chicago has tremendously shrunk, considering the situation in 2006 and the situation as it is today. More grocery stores have been opened in Chicago, thereby reducing the magnitude of the problem. On the other hand, the presenters acknowledged that with the help of the First Lady and various authorities in Chicago, more groceries have been opened in the area, and so have farmers started cultivating healthier food crops. Additionally, the presenters identified the effects of the various programs in the area to address this issue. All those programs have realized positive effects as the food desert problem in Chicago is on the decrease today. With this information from Wehunt and the presenters, it is then possible that very soon; Chicago will never experience the food desert problem (Wehunt, 2009).

The article by Gray Stephen also addresses the food desert problem in Chicago, just like the presenters did. However, Gray takes a different approach in gong about this situation. While the presenters identified and presented the facts directly as they are about the situation in Chicago, Gray has based his facts indirectly on a story of a young businessperson, who is a grocer. Nonetheless, in both cases by the presenters and Gray, it turns out that the African Americans are most affected in Chicago. Additionally, they both identify poverty as the main factor leading to food deserts.  Although the presenters did not address this in details, Gray goes ahead to link the relationship between poverty and food deserts. According to Gray, low-income earners do not spend on health foods, since these are expensive, therefore, grocers situated in such areas lack profitability in their business. This therefore, drives them away to neighborhoods with high-income earners, who value healthy eating, and will therefore, shop for health food, regardless of what time of the month it is. Unlike the presenters, Gray goes ahead to suggest another alternative way of addressing this issue. From the youngman’s experiences selling groceries, most African Americans, who are low-income earners lack sufficient information on the importance of healthy eating. This therefore, makes them settle for the cheap junk food in convenience stores. This is why most food deserts are located in regions occupied by low-income earners. Therefore, Gray identifies educating the masses as a way of helping solve the food desert problem (Gray, 2009).

The article by Leete, Laura, Bania, Neil and Sparks-Ibanga, Andrea, in the Journal of Planning Education Research addresses the food desert problem, but introduces a new concept “Food Hinterlands,” in the process. Unlike the presenters address on the issue, this article is more detailed and comprehensive, and use literature review to draw more information on the problem, as well as shed more light on it. The presenters on the other hand, were brief, and more straightforward in the presentation of their facts. The purpose of the journal article is to advocate for the improvement of policies related to food shortage among the low-income families. The presenters on the other hand presented their facts only for the purpose of learning and creation of awareness about the case in the confines of a class. While the presenters focused on Chicago, this journal article focuses on the food desert problem in Oregon and Portland urban areas (Leete, Bania & Sparks-Ibanga, 2011).

In the journal article, there is research about a new phenomenon relating to food access, while the presenters were not concerned with development of any new phenomenon with regard to food access. According to the authors of the article, some food deserts were not located in areas occupied by low-income earners. This is contrary to the presenters, who identified low-income earners, as living in food deserts. This scenario was noted in the Portland area, upon the authors’ study. In this area, some low-income earners living in areas of low food access, but which are miles away from the known food deserts. Since such areas are small, the government has failed to identify them and help them address their food needs. The authors therefore, name these “food hinterlands.” Although they are not located in the main food deserts, they equally suffer a limited food access, and there is no help coming their way because of their location, which is hard for government to notice or identify. Therefore, the journal article is complex, compared to the presenters’ presentation. The authors of the journal article conduct a study and in their findings come up with the “food hinterlands” phenomenon. This was aimed at helping government and other bodies to incorporate policy and planning in these areas, with regard to food access (Leete, Bania & Sparks-Ibanga, 2011). Therefore, although this article addresses the aspect of food deserts, its complexity in the presentation of facts is different from that of the presenters. Nonetheless, all the articles that have been compared and contrasted carry useful insights on the case of food deserts in the United States.

 

 

 

Key Words

Food desert – an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.

Pgs. 2, 3, 4, 5.

Grocery – items of food sold in a grocery store. Pgs. 3, 4, 5.

Health food – natural food that is thought to have health-giving qualities. Pgs. 3, 4, 5.

Junk – pre-prepared or packaged food that has low nutritional value. Pgs. 3, 4, 6.

Nutrition – the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth. Pgs.

3, 4.

Source: Oxforddictionaries.com

 

Works Cited

Achenbaum, E. (2008, September 1). Roseland residents aim to end drought of grocery stores.

Tribune Reporter. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-09-01/news/0808310257_1_grocery-convenience-food-deserts

Gray, S. (2009, May 26). Can America’s Urban Food Deserts Bloom? Chicago Times.

Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1900947,00.html

Hernandez, D. (2011 July 22). Michelle Obama, Wal-Mart and the ‘food desert’ problem. Los

Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/22/news/la-heb-fruits-vegetables-poor-communities20110722

Leete, L., Bania, N., & Sparks-Ibanga, A. (2011, December 12). Urban Food Deserts and

Food Hinterlands. Journal of Planning Education and Research 2012, 32: 204.

Wehunt, J. (2009, July). The Food Desert. Chicago magazine.

Retrieved from http://www.chicagomag.com/core/pagetools.php?url=%2FChicago-Magazine%2FJuly-2009%2FThe-Food-Desert%2F&mode=print

 

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Oil in the Middle East

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26^th, January 2013

The global importance of the Middle East lies in its oil, as nearly all world countries depend on oil for energy. Being the world’s largest producer of oil, the importance of the Middle East is shown by how most countries today over-rely on it to supply their oil needs. The depletion of fossil fuel and its non-renewable nature raises concerns about the future of oil in the Middle East and the future of the global economy. There is a relationship between oil reserves in the Middle East, economic decadence, and conflicts in the area. Most would expect that a rich product as oil would boost a country’s economy and stability. However, this has not been the case in the Middle East, as oil in this area, is the root cause of all the conflicts experienced in the area, thus, making the area more volatile and unstable. It is right to then think of oil in the Middle East as a curse, and not a blessing, considering all the wars and conflicts that have taken place in the past, and today because of oil (Gunderson, 2003).

It is probable that as long as oil continues to exist in the Middle East, conflict will persist in the area. From its history, the Middle East has been facing its own internal conflicts, especially the historical conflict between Arabs and Israel. The powerful foreign countries such as the USA and Britain have capitalized on this conflict to control the oil resources in the Middle East. If there would have been no oil in the region, it is likely that these powerful nations would have less or no interest in the Arab-Israel conflict. In order to gain favor of the oil producing countries in the Middle East, the powerful nations have bought and supplied arms to these countries, and even funded their terrorist activities in the conflict (“Top Documentary Films”).

The media does not expose the stakes of the West in the Middle East, but presents the West as wanting peace to prevail in the area. While the media presents the interest of the West as attainment of peace in the area, the opposite is the case. However, the USA is interested in maintaining the use of US Dollars in the oil rich countries in the Middle East, and in the global market. To achieve this, the USA manipulates the heads of states of these countries to price their oil in dollars in order for the USA to protect them. Today, the USA continues to dominate the world market, because oil is priced in the US Dollars. For this reason, the West does not want a stable government in the oil producing countries, as this might reduce their dominance in the area. Conflict in the Middle East is therefore, likely to persist, as it favors the West, and gives them a chance to control the oil fields in the area (“Top Documentary Films”).

Foreign powerful countries aim at controlling the oil in the Middle East, so that their nations receive a constant supply of oil, and at a relatively lower price compared to other countries. Today, the USA troops are stationed at the Persian Gulf region, where they control the supply of oil from the area to other world regions. In addition, the controversial war between Iraq and the USA under the Bush administration was inspired by oil. At the start of the war, what the US troops did first was to seize all the oil fields in Iraq. Similarly, it is believed that the USA fabricated the removal of Saddam Hussein for reasons related to oil, especially when Saddam switched oil currency of his country from the US Dollars to the Euro (“Top Documentary Films”).

The resolution of conflicts in the Middle East might be hard to achieve in future. This is because of the USA, which wants to retain its superpower and dominance in the world. Since oil is considered both a power and political product, the USA and other powerful countries will continue fighting to have total control of oil in the Middle East. To ensure that oil is supplied to the West at low prices, and is priced in US Dollars, these Western nations will work at ensuring that they keep corrupt and undemocratic governments in power, in the oil producing companies, as these are more likely to serve the interests of the USA and other powerful nations of the West. Additionally, the revenue these Arab countries obtain from oil is spent on their defense and purchase of arms from the West, to use in their Arab-Israel conflict. Other oil revenue is invested privately in the West, at the expense of stabilizing their ailing economies. It is therefore, evident that the presence of oil in the Middle East has led to more problems than peace. The interests of the West in the Middle East are inspired by presence of oil in the area, and these have intensified the conflict between Arabs and Israelis. Since oil is a defining aspect of USA power, it is more likely that oil struggles in the Middle East will continue (Shwadran, 1977).

 

References

Top Documentary Films (n.d). “The Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror.” Retrieved 26

January 2013 http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-oil-factor/ 

Gunderson, C. (2003). “The Need for Oil.” New Jersey: ABDO.

Shwadran, B. (1977). “Middle East Oil: Issues and Problems.” New York: Transaction

Publishers,

 

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Common Law Marriage in Civil Law System

            In the civil law system, marriage laws fall under the private laws. Civil law systems therefore, contract civil marriages, and not common law marriages. In civil marriages, there is the involvement of an act of a civil servant, such as a magistrate, who oversees the legalization process of the marriage (Stahl 134). Common law marriage is therefore, illegal in a civil law system. Common law marriage is slowly fading away, as even only few common law systems contract it today. In the United States, the state of Louisiana, which is under the civil law system, does not contract common law marriages (Statsky 38). Similarly, countries that use the civil law system do not contract common law marriages. These countries contract civil marriages. However, common law marriage may be recognized by a civil law system, only if the couple contracted their marriage in a state that contracts and recognizes common law marriage (Lind 235). So far, there is no known civil law system state, which contracts common law marriage, as this would be considered as contravening their laws.

Absentee marriage is rare in most parts of the world. In the United States, only few states allow for absentee marriage. These are California, Montano, Texas, and Colorado (Wardle and Nolan 94). In this type of marriage, the legalization process is conducted in the presence of only one of the marriage couple, either the bride or the bridegroom. Therefore, in this case, it is not possible for both the bride and the bridegroom to be in the presence of the judge. However, this is done in the presence of a valid witness. Most marriages of this kind in the in the United States are allowed for members of the military, who are deployed or live in different locations. For the legalization of this marriage, a small fee is charged, as well as the necessary paperwork.

 

Works Cited

Lind, Goran. “Common Law Marriage: A Legal Institution for Cohabitation: A Legal Institution

for Cohabitation.” London: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Stahl, Friedrich. “Private Law.” New York: WordBridge Publishing, 2007.

Statsky, William. “Family Law: The Essentials.” New York: Cengage Learning, 2003.

Wardle, Lynn and Nolan, Laurence. Family Law in the USA. New Jersey: Kluwer Law

International, 2011.

 

 

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Common Law Marriage in Civil Law System

            In the United States, only a few states contract common law marriage. These include Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Utah, Washington DC, Texas, South Carolina, among others. These states are under the common law system. The remaining states under the common law system do not recognize this kind of marriage (Statsky 38). All American states use the common law system, except Louisiana. Being the only state under the civil system, Louisiana does not contract common law marriage. Unlike in common law marriage, for one to be legally married in Louisiana, they must acquire a marriage licence and if possible hold a ceremony. However, all the states recognize all marriages that occurred in a different state. Therefore, if a couple had a common law marriage in their state, on moving to another state that does not contract such a marriage, their marriage remains valid (Lind 235).

In the United States, only few states allow for absentee marriage. These are California, Montano, Texas, and Colorado (Wardle and Nolan 94). In this type of marriage, the legalization process is conducted in the presence of only one of the marriage couple, either the bride or the bridegroom. Therefore, in this case, it is not possible for both the bride and the bridegroom to be in the presence of the judge. However, this is done in the presence of a valid witness. Most marriages of this kind in the in the United States are allowed for members of the military, who are deployed or live in different locations. For the legalization of this marriage, a small fee is charged, as well as the necessary paperwork.

Works Cited

Lind, Goran. “Common Law Marriage: A Legal Institution for Cohabitation: A Legal Institution

for Cohabitation.” London: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Statsky, William. “Family Law: The Essentials.” New York: Cengage Learning, 2003.

Wardle, Lynn and Nolan, Laurence. Family Law in the USA. New Jersey: Kluwer Law

International, 2011.

 

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